The road at night
by Joshua's Sin
Summary: Crow wandering around all contemplative. Set after the season one finale but before the start of season 2


Night had fallen over new domino city. Though the city glowed with it's artificial beauty things were slightly more subdued that they were during the day. Enforcer cars and duel runners patrolled the streets dealing with the occasional thug or smuggler, small petty things compared to the massive upheaval that the city had endured just a few short months before with the arrival of the dark signers and the connection of New Domino and the Satellite. However on his particular early summer evening one soul was particularly restless, Crow Hogan slowly trudged his way down the streets of the city lost deeply in his own thoughts. The pale ethereal glow of the lamp light illuminating his face revealing three distinct marks, a small m shape placed above his eyebrows and the other two cascaded down from his eyes like a stream of tears. He was dressed simply, a pair of blue jeans, a plain black t-shirt and jacket that keep out the cold, and his trademark headband that sat on his forehead. Crows anxiety was not based on a looming deadline or world ending power. His anxiety was instead based on the sheer amount of change that had overtook his life i such a short amount of time. Not that the change had bad of course, no quite the opposite the change had been quite good! The flock of children that he so zealously protected no longer had to hide in the safety of his nest. Quite contrary they now went to school and got fed a full three meals a day by Maratha. And he himself, how things had changed for him! The beginning of his life had been spent scavenging for food and running from the law, but now… he held an actual job! He wasn't smuggling goods or stealing from enforcers, here he was delivering chicken to actual legitimate businesses! Cow laughed aloud at that thought the last of his anxiety fading away and a goofy grin coming to his face. Yes, he thought to himself, things were starting to look up. The new engine that he, Yusei, and Jack were building was going to take their game too the next level and insure their victory at the next tournament. Still lost in thought Crow bumped into a lamp post, cursing the world snapped back into focus as he rubbed his shoulder. More conscious of of his surroundings crow let a small smile play on his face as he realized that in his deep thoughts he had managed to walk in a complete circle all the way back to the garage that he and his friends shared. The front of the garage was a solid wall of concrete with a large opening in the front grated with a rusting metal curtain, to let vehicles in and out, and to the side, slightly rusted much like the grate, was a steel door set into the concrete for people to enter and leave. Reaching his hand into his pocket crow carefully extricated his key and unlocked the door. Reaching out Crow eased the door open as carefully and quietly as he could to avoid waking Yusei and Jack who slept within. The door slid outward with only the slightest creek of it's rusty hinges to reveal the room beyond. The garage was an organized mess as it was always was. The right side was devoted to work, blueprints hung taped to the hung taped to the wall, while several toolboxes sat on a bench with the engine prototype, there was diagnostic equipment set up to the side for assessing how the engine actually performed and in front of all this sat the duel runners, Crows black and brown. Yusei's red, and Jack's pure white. The left side of the garage could be considered the living quarters. The bathroom was in the far back and carried the industrial feel of the rest of the garage. Three cotts were propped against the uppermost corner, two of which were currently occupied by a sleeping yusei and a snoring Jack. Back aways from them was a rather banged up looking refrigerator that after receiving a tune up from Yusei worked like new. Crow stepped as quietly as he could down the steps and tip toed over to the refrigerator and eased it open to look for something to drink. The refrigerator's light revealed a carton of eggs, a couple cans of pop, some leftover chinese, a carton of milk, and what Crow hoped was some parishan cheese in the back. Grabbing the milk Crow popped it open and started drinking it open and started drinking out of the container ( what Jack didn't know wouldn't kill him.) a small amount of milk dripping down his chin. After wiping his chin and replacing the milk Crow eased the th fridge door shut and made his way over to his cott. Peeling of his shoes and socks Crow sat down on his cott and satared at his friends. Yusei laye face up everything below his shoulders obscured by blankets, even in his sleep he carried a sort of grim self confident gravity that spoke of his years of hard life. Jack (who had thankfully stopped snoring at this point) seemed to be stripped of the hard haughty exterior that he carried, though his face was only slightly less regal and pompous, and the kindness within came to the surface. Crow stared at Jack a bit bemused, he wondered how Carlie girl fawned over jack the way she did when most of the time he wore his "better than thou" attitude. Crow grinned at that, Jack wasn't an easy person to love at times he could be self obsessed, pompous, condescending, and at times downright arrogant. And while some of it was his personality the rest was a facade he built to protect the side that actually cared about people. Crow laughed inwardly to himself, he knew so much about about everyone around him yet what did he know about himself? Crow snorted softly to himself, he had already gotten philosophical once to night there was no need for more soul searching this evening he did have work tomorrow. Grabbing the hem of his shirt crow pulled it up over his well defined body and head. Reaching down he unbuttoned and zipped his jeans and added them to the pile at he edge of his bed with his shoes, socks, and shirt. Crow took his head band off and added it to the pile before pulling the covers over himself and burying his head under the pillow before falling into a warm fuzzy sleep.


End file.
